Providing covers for the cooking surfaces of cooking ranges, is not new in the art. Reeves U.S. Pat. No. 2,411,464; O'Keefe U.S. Pat. No. 2,536,513; Bury U.S. Pat. No. 2,647,990; and Rogers U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,632 illustrate cooking stoves with hinged covers for their cooking surfaces. The covers are large and bulky and do not appear to provide any function when the cooking surfaces are being used.
Covey U.S.D. Pat. No. 152,596; Porter U.S.D. Pat. No. 153,977; and Kruck U.S.D. Pat. No. 160,951 illustrate modular cooktop covers for the cooking surfaces of a cooking stove which are disposed above the plane of the cooking surface and provide edges that an operator can grasp for removal of the cover.
Adkins U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,132 and U.S.D. Pat. No. 313,532 disclose modular covers for cooking apparatus which are both disposed above the plane of the cooking surface and have handles and knobs so that an operator can remove the covers.